UK’s Defence Ministry: Sanctions likely disrupt supply, demand for Russian arms exports

The UK’s Defence Ministry has written that sanctions likely continue to disrupt key inputs for Russia’s defence industry.

Russia’s isolation limits the number of countries it can directly trade with, highly likely increasing the time and cost to acquire items it could once purchase easily, Caliber.Az reports citing the message of the UK’s Defence Ministry on X.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 01 April 2024.

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Research from the Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies suggests third party countries are charging price premiums of over 60 per cent for exports of certain sanctioned goods to Russia.

While Russia has increased production of key munitions most heavily used in Ukraine, such as artillery shells, the impact of sanctions is highly likely greatest on Russia’s more advanced and complex weapon systems. These systems in production and development almost certainly have an increased reliance on foreign components and technology.

Sanctions likely continue to disrupt both supply and demand for Russian arms exports, as well as significantly complicating payment mechanisms to Russia. This has almost certainly contributed to a significant decline in Russia’s arms exports and increased delivery delays, including to some of its most important remaining arms customers. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia’s share of the global arms trade has fallen to 11 per cent in the period 2019 to 2023 compared to 21 per cent in the period 2014 to 2018.